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I Believe In Mystery And, Frankly, I Sometimes Face This Mystery With Great Fear. In Other Words, I Think That There Are Many Things In The Universe That We Cannot Perceive Or Penetrate, And That Also We Experience Some Of The Most Beautiful Things In Life Only In A Very Primitive Form. Only In Relation To These Mysteries Do I Consider Myself To Be A Religious Man.
-Albert Einstein
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I Believe In Mystery

Albert Einstein
I Believe In Mystery And, Frankly, I Sometimes Face This Mystery With Great Fear. In Other Words, I Think That There Are Many Things In The Universe That We Cannot Perceive Or Penetrate, And That Also We Experience Some Of The Most Beautiful Things In Life Only In A Very Primitive Form. Only In Relation To These Mysteries Do I Consider Myself To Be A Religious Man.
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Beautiful
Religious
Believe
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The World Is Not Threatened By Evil People, But By Those Who Allow Evil To Take Place.
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A Man's Ethical Behaviour Should Be Based Effectually On Sympathy, Education, And Social Ties And Needs; No Religious Basis Is Necessary. Man Would Indeed Be In A Poor Way If He Had To Be Restrained By Fear Of Punishment And Hope Of Reward After Death.
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For Any One Who Is Pervaded With The Sense Of Causal Law In All That Happens, Who Accepts In Real Earnest The Assumption Of Causality, The Idea Of A Being Who Interferes With The Sequence Of Events In The World Is Absolutely Impossible. Neither The Religion Of Fear Nor The Social-moral Religion Can Have Any Hold On Him.
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The Essentials Of Being A Person Of My Type Lies Precisely In What They Think And How They Think, Not In What They Do. Your Thoughts Shape You.
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Desire For Approval And Recognition Is A Healthy Motive, But The Desire To Be Acknowledged As Better, Stronger, Or More Intelligent Than A Fellow Being Or Fellow Scholar Easily Leads To An Excessively Egoistic Psychological Adjustment, Which May Become Injurious For The Individual And For The Community.
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When I Was Still A Rather Precocious Young Man, I Already Realized Most Vividly The Futility Of The Hopes And Aspirations That Most Men Pursue Throughout Their Lives.
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What I See In Nature Is A Grand Design That We Can Understand Only Imperfectly, One With Which A Responsible Person Must Look At With Humility.
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Insofar As We May At All Claim That Slavery Has Been Abolished Today, We Owe Its Abolition To The Practical Consequences Of Science
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It Is Strange To Be Known So Universally And Yet To Be So Lonely.
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No One But A Theorist Believes His Theory; Everyone Puts Faith In A Laboratory Result But The Experimenter Himself.
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Man Usually Avoids Attributing Cleverness To Somebody Else Unless It Is An Enemy.
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To A Student: Dear Miss - I Have Read About Sixteen Pages Of Your Manuscript . . . I Suffered Exactly The Same Treatment At The Hands Of My Teachers Who Disliked Me For My Independence And Passed Over Me When They Wanted Assistants. . . . Keep Your Manuscript For Your Sons And Daughters, In Order That They May Derive Consolation From It And Not Give A Damn For What Their Teachers Tell Them Or Think Of Them. . . . There Is Too Much Education Altogether.
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A Human Being Is A Part Of The Whole Called By Us Universe, A Part Limited In Time And Space. He Experiences Himself, His Thoughts And Feeling As Something Separated From The Rest, A Kind Of Optical Delusion Of His Consciousness. This Delusion Is A Kind Of Prison For Us, Restricting Us To Our Personal Desires And To Affection For A Few Persons Nearest To Us. Our Task Must Be To Free Ourselves From This Prison By Widening Our Circle Of Compassion To Embrace All Living Creatures And The Whole Of Nature In Its Beauty.
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The Hardest Thing To Understand In The World Is The Income Tax.
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Turkish Soldiers Are Very Brave. They Love Their Homeland And They Do Not Hesitate To Give Their Lives For It If Necessary.
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Teaching Should Be Such That What Is Offered Is Perceived As A Valuable Gift And Not As Hard Duty. Never Regard Study As Duty But As The Enviable Opportunity To Learn To Know The Liberating Influence Of Beauty In The Realm Of The Spirit For Your Own Personal Joy And To The Profit Of The Community To Which Your Later Work Belongs.
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I Have Never Looked Upon Ease And Happiness As Ends In Themselves. This Ethical Basis I Call The Ideal Of The Pigsty.
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The Wing Structure Of The Hornet, In Relation To Its Weight, Is Not Suitable For Flight, But He Does Not Know This And Flies Anyway.
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Intuitive Powers Played A Central Role In My Scientific Work, Not Wild Speculation, Yet A Valued Resource When No Other Approach Was Available.
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That Which Is Impenetrable To Us Really Exists. Behind The Secrets Of Nature Remains Something Subtle, Intangible, And Inexplicable. Veneration For This Force Beyond Anything That We Can Comprehend Is My Religion.
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Everything That Is Really Great And Inspiring Is Created By The Individual Who Can Labor In Freedom.
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The Jewish Scriptures Admirably Illustrate The Development From The Religion Of Fear To Moral Religion, A Development Continued In The New Testament. The Religions Of All Civilized Peoples, Especially The Peoples Of The Orient, Are Primarily Moral Religions.
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One Must Shy Away From Questionable Undertakings, Even When They Bear A High-sounding Name.
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The Most Difficult Part About Understanding Something Is That We Understand It All.
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The Heart Says Yes, But The Mind Says No.
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I Became More And More Convinced That Even Nature Could Be Understood As A Relatively Simple Mathematical Structure.
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I Appeal To All Men And Women, Whether They Be Eminent Or Humble, To Declare That They Will Refuse To Give Any Further Assistance To War Or The Preparation Of War.
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One Is Born Into A Herd Of Buffaloes And Must Be Glad If One Is Not Trampled Under Foot Before One's Time.
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I Am Also Convinced That One Gains The Purest Joy From Spirited Things Only When They Are Not Tied In With Earning One's Livelihood.
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Each Makes This Cosmos And Its Construction The Pivot Of His Emotional Life, In Order To Find In This Way Peace And Security Which He Can Not Find In The Narrow Whirlpool Of Personal Experience.
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What We Don't Know Is Much More Than What We Know.
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A Scientist Is A Mimosa When He Himself Has Made A Mistake, And A Roaring Lion When He Discovers A Mistake Of Others.
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Enough For Me Is The Mystery Of The Eternity Of Life, And The Inkling Of The Marvelous Structure Of Reality. There Is In This Neither A Will Nor A Goal, Nor A Must, But Only Sheer Being.
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My Only Genius Talent Is Inquisitiveness.
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I Believe, Indeed, That Overemphasis On The Purely Intellectual Attitude, Often Directed Solely To The Practical And Factual, In Our Education, Has Led Directly To The Impairment Of Ethical Values. I Am Not Thinking So Much Of The Dangers With Which Technical Progress Has Directly Confronted Mankind, As Of The Stifling Of Mutual Human Considerations By A 'matter-of-fact' Habit Of Thought Which Has Come To Lie Like A Killing Frost Upon Human Relations. Without 'ethical Culture' There Is No Salvation For Humanity.
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If I Would Be A Young Man Again And Had To Decide How To Make My Living, I Would Not Try To Become A Scientist Or Scholar Or Teacher. I Would Rather Choose To Be A Plumber Or A Peddler In Hope To Find That Modest Degree Of Independence Still Available Under Present Circumstances.
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Time Has No Independent Existence Apart From The Order Of Events By Which We Measure It.
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Organized People Are Just Too Lazy To Go Looking For What They Want.
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I Like To Think The Moon Is There Even If I Am Not Looking At It.
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A Man Has To Work So Hard So That Something Of His Personality Stays Alive. A Tomcat Has It So Easy, He Has Only To Spray And His Presence Is There For Years On Rainy Days.
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Concern For Man Himself Must Always Constitute The Chief Objective Of All Technological Effort
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The Only Way To Escape The Corruptible Effect Of Praise Is To Go On Working.
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Goes On
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No Amount Of Experimentation Can Ever Prove Me Right; A Single Experiment Can Prove Me Wrong.
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For Every One Billion Particles Of Antimatter There Were One Billion And One Particles Of Matter. And When The Mutual Annihilation Was Complete, One Billionth Remained - And That's Our Present Universe.
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Don't Do Anything That Goes Against Your Conscience, Even If Your Country Says So.
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Go Out As Far As You Can Go And Start From There
In The Middle Of Every Difficulty Lies Opportunity.
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Being Strong
I Cannot Seriously Believe In It [quantum Theory] Because The Theory Cannot Be Reconciled With The Idea That Physics Should Represent A Reality In Time And Space, Free From Spooky Actions At A Distance [spukhafte Fernwirkungen].
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Believe
Science
In The Matter Of Physics, The First Lessons Should Contain Nothing But What Is Experimental And Interesting To See. A Pretty Experiment Is In Itself Often More Valuable Than Twenty Formulae Extracted From Our Minds.
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Almost All The Other Fellows Do Not Look From The Facts To The Theory But From The Theory To The Facts; They Cannot Get Out Of The Network Of Already Accepted Concepts; Instead, Comically, They Only Wriggle About Inside.
Looks
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Accepted
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Lying
Long Walks
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Inspirational
Believe
Simple
The Greater The Doubt, The Greater The Awakening
Tree
Doubt
Awakening
I Always Found I Was In The Best Of Company, Alone.
Found
Company
You Cannot Simultaneously Prevent And Prepare For War.
Love
Life
God
After A Certain High Level Of Technical Skill Is Achieved Science And Art Tend To Coalesce In Aesthetics, Plasticity, And Form. The Greatest Scientists Are Artists As Well.
Art
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I Have Remained A Simple Fellow Who Asks Nothing Of The World; Only My Youth Is Gone - The Enchanting Youth That Forever Walks On Air.
Memorable
Simple
Air
Give Back To The World At Least What You've Received.
Giving
World
Giving Back
There Lies The Weaknesss Of Positivists And Professional Atheists Who Are Elated Because They Feel That They Have Not Only Successfully Rid The World Of Gods But "bared The Miracles." (that Is, Explained The Miracles. - Ed.) Oddly Enough, We Must Be Satisfied To Acknowledge The "miracle" Without There Being Any Legitimate Way For Us To Approach It . I Am Forced To Add That Just To Keep You From Thinking That -weakened By Age-i Have Fallen Prey To The Clergy.
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Money Only Appeals To Selfishness And Always Tempts Its Owners Irresistibly To Abuse It. Can Anyone Imagine Moses, Jesus, Or Gandhi Armed With The Money-bags Of Carnegie?
Jesus
Abuse
Selfishness
For Me The Jewish Religion Like All Others Is An Incarnation Of The Most Childish Superstitions, And The Jewish People To Whom I Gladly Belong And With Whose Mentality I Have A Deep Affinity Have No Different Quality For Me Than All Other People. As Far As My Experience Goes, They Are No Better Than Other Human Groups, Although They Are Protected From The Worst Cancers By A Lack Of Power. Otherwise I Cannot See Anything Chosen About Them.
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If You Can't Explain What You Are Doing To A Nine-year-old, Then Either You Still Don't Understand It Very Well, Or It's Not All That Worthwile In The First Place.
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I Believe In Intuition And Inspiration...at Times I Feel Certain I Am Right While Not Knowing The Reason.
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Unlimited Competition Leads To A Huge Waste Of Labor, And To That Crippling Of The Social Consciousness Of Individuals.
Competition
Waste
Consciousness
Man Has An Intense Desire For Assured Knowledge.
Knowledge
Science
Men
Common Sense Is The Collection Of Prejudices Acquired By Age Eighteen.
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Leadership
Great Spirits Often Meet Violent Oppisition With Mediocre Minds.
Mind
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Violent
Even The Scholars In Various Lands Have Been Acting As If Their Brains Had Been Amputated.
Land
Brain
Acting
The Value Of A College Education Is Not The Learning Of Many Facts But The Training Of The Mind To Think
Memorable
College
Thinking
For Me The Jewish Religion Like All Other Religions Is An Incarnation Of The Most Childish Superstitions.
Atheist
Religion
Atheism
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Prayer
Believe
Law
I Would Not Think That Philosophy And Reason Themselves Will Be Man's Guide In The Foreseeable Future; However, They Will Remain The Most Beautiful Sanctuary They Have Always Been For The Select Few.
Beautiful
Philosophy
Future
The Aim (of Education) Must Be The Training Of Independently Acting And Thinking Individuals Who, However, See In The Service To The Community Their Highest Life Problem.
Memorable
Thinking
Community
A Tyranny Based On ... Deception And Maintained By Terror Must Inevitably Perish From The Poison It Generates Within Itself.
Deception
Liberty
Poison
Life Isn't Worth Living, Unless It Is Lived For Someone Else.
Inspirational
Life
Spiritual
The Flag Is A Symbol Of The Fact That Man Is Still A Herd Animal.
Animal
Men
Flags
The World We Have Made Is A Result Of The Level Of Thinking We Have Done Thus Far.
Thinking
Done
World
Life Is Sacred, That Is To Say, It Is The Supreme Value, To Which All Other Values Are Subordinate.
Sacred
Life Is
Subordinates
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Yield
Simplicity
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Atheist
Soul
Religion
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Teacher
Giving Up
Struggle
I'm No More Intelligent Than The Next Guy. I'm Just More Curious.
Intelligent
Guy
Next
Applying The Axioms Of Physical Science To Human Life Has Something Reprehensible To It.
Human Life
Humans
Physical Science
A Problem Defined, Is A Problem Half Solved.
Half
Problem
Defined
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Religious
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Men
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Military
Desire
Essentials
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Life
Art
May
Fear Or Stupidity Has Always Been The Basis Of Most Human Actions.
Memorable
Stupidity
Action
The Most Beautiful Thing We Can Experience Is The Mysterious. It Is The Source Of All True Art And Science. He To Whom The Realm Of The Spirit For Your Own Personal Joy And To The Profit Of The Community To Which Your Later Work Belongs.
Beautiful
Art
Community
During The Last Century, And Part Of The One Before, It Was Widely Held That There Was An Unreconcilable Conflict Between Knowledge And Belief. The Opinion Prevailed Amoung Advanced Minds That It Was Time That Belief Should Be Replaced Increasingly By Knowledge; Belief That Did Not Itself Rest On Knowledge Was Superstition, And As Such Had To Be Opposed. According To This Conception, The Sole Function Of Education Was To Open The Way To Thinking And Knowing, And The School, As The Outstanding Organ For The People's Education, Must Serve That End Exclusively.
School
Thinking
Knowing
The Universe Is Difficult To Comprehend Because It Is Obvious.
Obvious
Difficult
Universe
To Be Sure, The Doctrine Of A Personal God Interfering With Natural Events Could Never Be Refuted, In The Real Sense, By Science, For This Doctrine Can Always Take Refuge In Those Domains In Which Scientific Knowledge Has Not Yet Been Able To Set Foot.
Truth
Real
Dark
Science Not Only Purifies The Religious Impulse Of The Dross Of Its Anthropomorphism But Also Contributes To A Religious Spiritualization Of Our Understanding Of Life.
Religious
Understanding
Anthropomorphism
One Has To Realize That The Powerful Industrial Groups Concerned In The Manufacture Of Arms Are Doing Their Best In All Countries To Prevent The Peaceful Settlement Of International Disputes, And That Rulers Can Achieve This Great End Only If They Are Sure Of The Vigorous Support Of The Majority Of Their Peoples.
Country
Powerful
Support
I Know That Philosophically A Murderer Is Not Responsible For His Crime, But I Prefer Not To Take Tea With Him.
Tea
Crime
Responsible
The Most Important Human Endeavor Is The Striving For Morality In Our Actions. Our Inner Balance And Even Our Very Existence Depend On It. Only Morality In Our Actions Can Give Beauty And Dignity To Life.
Life
Self Esteem
Giving
From Discord, Find Harmony.
Harmony
Discord
To Get To Know A Country, You Must Have Direct Contact With The Earth. It's Futile To Gaze At The World Through A Car Window.
Wise
Country
Travel
By Academic Freedom I Understand The Right To Search For Truth And To Publish And Teach What One Holds To Be True. This Right Also Implies A Duty: One Must Not Conceal Any Part Of What One Has Recognized To Be True.
Truth
Statistics
Duty
A Theory Can Be Proved By Experiment; But No Path Leads From Experiment To The Birth Of A Theory.
Science
Discovery
Path
Every Age Has Its Beautiful Moments.
Beautiful
Age
Moments
Time Does Not Exist - We Invented It
Doe
The Release Of Atomic Energy Has Not Created A New Problem. It Has Merely Made More Urgent The Necessity Of Solving An Existing One.
Funny
Peace
Military
Philosophy Is Empty If It Isn't Based On Science. Science Discovers, Philosophy Interprets.
Philosophy
Empty
Ifs
A Little Knowledge Is A Dangerous Thing. So Is A Lot.
Inspirational
Spiritual
Learning
If Only I Had Known, I Should Have Become A Watchmaker.
Knowledge
Science
Should Have
The Most Fundamental Question We Can Ever Ask Ourselves Is Whether Or Not The Universe We Live In Is Friendly Or Hostile.
Science
Technology
Friendly
I Am Enough Of An Artist To Draw Freely Upon My Imagination.
Love
Inspirational
Life
One Should Not Pursue Goals That Are Easily Achieved. One Must Develop An Instinct For What One Can Just Barely Achieve Through One’s Greatest Efforts.
Memorable
Goal
Effort
The Facts, Although Interesting, Are Irrelevant.
Wisdom
Interesting
Facts
Imagination Encircles The World.
Imagination
World
Only Six Men In The World Know About Relativity. I Am Not One Of Them. When I Ask Them To Explain, They Confused Me.
Confused
Men
World
Any Fool Can Know. The Point Is To Understand.
Wisdom
Learning
Knowledge
A Thousand Things Can Prove Me Right And One Can Prove Me Wrong.
Life
Prove Me Wrong
Thousand
The Right To Search For Truth Implies Also A Duty.
Duty
Search For Truth
While I Am A Convinced Pacifist There Are Circumstances In Which I Believe The Use Of Force Is Appropriate - Namely, In The Face Of An Enemy Unconditionally Bent On Destroying Me And My People.
Believe
Destroying Me
People
We Have Penetrated Far Less Deeply Into The Regularities Obtaining Within The Realm Of Living Things, But Deeply Enough Nevertheless To Sense At Least The Rule Of Fixed Necessity... What Is Still Lacking Here Is A Grasp Of The Connections Of Profound Generality, But Not A Knowledge Of Order Itself.
Life
Order
Profound
You Think You Have Troubles With Mathematics . . . I Assure You Mine Are Still Bigger.
Thinking
Trouble
Mathematics
Inner Freedom Is An Infrequent Gift Of Nature And A Worthy Object For The Individual.
Individual
Worthy
Objects
Beyond The Realms Of What We See, Into The Regions Or The Unexplored Limited Only By Our Imaginations.
Imagination
Realms
Regions
Nothing Is More Destructive Of Respect For The Government And The Law Of The Land Than Passing Laws Which Cannot Be Enforced.
Love
Life
God
The Cult Of Individual Personalities Is Always, In My View, Unjustified. To Be Sure, Nature Distributes Her Gifts Variously Among Her Children. But There Are Plenty Of The Well-endowed Ones Too, Thank God, And I Am Firmly Convinced That Most Of Them Live Quiet, Unregarded Lives.
Children
Views
Personality
The Only Justifiable Purpose Of Political Institutions Is To Ensure The Unhindered Development Of The Individual.
Political
Development
Purpose
The Harmony Of Natural Law Reveals An Intelligence Of Such Superiority That, Compared With It, All The Systematic Thinking And Acting Of Human Beings Is An Utterly Insignificant Reflection.
Reflection
Thinking
Law
What A Sad Era When It Is Easier To Smash An Atom Than A Prejudice.
Inspirational
Sad
Spiritual
To Be Sure, It Is Not The Fruits Of Scientific Research That Elevate A Man And Enrich His Nature, But The Urge To Understand, The Intellectual Work, Creative Or Receptive.
Nature
Science
Men
What Is Inconceivable About The Universe Is That It Is At All Conceivable.
Ability
Universe
I Do Not Believe In Race As Such. Race Is A Fraud. All Modern People Are The Conglomeration Of So Many Ethnic Mixtures That No Pure Race Remains.
Believe
Race
People
This Topic Brings Me To That Worst Outcrop Of Herd Life, The Military System, Which I Abhor... This Plague-spot Of Civilization Ought To Be Abolished With All Possible Speed. Heroism On Command, Senseless Violence, And All The Loathsome Nonsense That Goes By The Name Of Patriotism -- How Passionately I Hate Them!
Hate
Military
Civilization
A Human Being Is A Part Of The Whole Called By Us Universe; A Part Limited In Time And Space. He Experiences Himself, His Thoughts, And His Feelings As Something Separate From The Rest - A Kind Of Optical Delusion Of Consciousness.
Nature
Compassion
Animal
Few People Are Capable Of Expressing With Equanimity Opinions Which Differ From The Prejudices Of Their Social Environment. Most People Are Even Incapable Of Forming Such Opinions.
Inspirational
Atheist
Life And Love
The Bitter And The Sweet Come From The Outside, The Hard From Within, From One's Own Efforts.
Sweet
Math
Effort
Everyone Sits In The Prison Of His Own Ideas; He Must Burst It Open, And That In His Youth, And So Try To Test His Ideas On Reality.
Reality
Ideas
Trying
My Scientific Work Is Motivated By An Irresistible Longing To Understand The Secrets Of Nature And By No Other Feeling. My Love For Justice And Striving To Contribute Towards The Improvement Of Human Conditions Are Quite Independent From My Scientific Interests.
Nature
Hard Work
Independent
Do Not Grow Old, No Matter How Long You Live. Never Cease To Stand Like Curious Children Before The Great Mystery Into Which We Were Born.
Children
Long
Age
During The Last Century, And Part Of The One Before, It Was Widely Held That There Was An Unreconcilable Conflict Between Knowledge And Belief.
Knowledge
Intelligence
Lasts
It Takes A Touch Of Genius - And A Lot Of Courage To Move In The Opposite Direction.
Courage
Moving
Simple
The Daily Struggle Does Not Arise From A Purpose Or A Program, But From An Immediate Need.
Struggle
Doe
Needs
Unless Americans Come To Realize That They Are Not Stronger In The World Because They Have The Bomb But Weaker Because Of Their Vulnerability To Atomic Attack, They Are Not Likely To Conduct Their Policy At Lake Success [the United Nations] Or In Their Relations With Russia In A Spirit That Furthers The Arrival At An Understanding.
Russia
Lakes
Understanding
Learn From Yesterday, Live For Today, Hope For Tomorrow. The Important Thing Is Not To Stop Questioning.
Inspirational
Life
Positive
To Me The Worst Thing Seems To Be A School Principally To Work With Methods Of Fear, Force And Artificial Authority. Such Treatment Destroys The Sound Sentiments, The Sincerity And The Self-confidence Of Pupils And Produces A Subservient Subject.
Education
School
Self Confidence
The Measure Of Intelligence Is The Ability To Change.
Inspirational
Change
Wisdom
Since The Mathematicians Have Invaded The Theory Of Relativity I Do Not Understand It Myself Any More.
Math
Computer
Theory
No Problem Can Be Solved From The Same Level Of Consciousness That Created It.
Love
Inspirational
Life
Not All Things Worth Counting Are Countable And Not All Things That Count Are Worth Counting.
Counting
All Things
Intelligence Is Not The Ability To Store Information, But To Know Where To Find It.
Information
Stores
Ability
The Ways Of Creation Are Wrapt In Mystery. We May Only Marvel, And Bow Our Head.
May
Way
Bows
The Important Thing Is Not To Stop Questioning. Curiosity Has Its Own Reason For Existing. One Cannot Help But Be In Awe When He Contemplates The Mysteries Of Eternity, Of Life, Of The Marvelous Structure Of Reality. It Is Enough If One Tries Merely To Comprehend A Little Of This Mystery Every Day. Never Lose A Holy Curiosity.
Inspirational
Journey
Reality
What The Individual Can Do Is To Give A Fine Example, And To Have The Courage To Uphold Ethical Values .. In A Society Of Cynics.
Giving
Words Of Wisdom
Example
No Scientist Thinks In Formulae.
Science
Thinking
Scientist
It Is Our American Habit If We Find The Foundations Of Our Educational Structure Unsatisfactory To Add Another Story Or Wing.
Education
Humorous
Learning
The Solution To This Problem Lies In The Heart Of Mankind.
Lying
Heart
Nuclear
How Can Any Educated Person Stay Away From The Greeks? I Have Always Been Far More Interested In Them Than In Science.
Greek
Educated
Educated Person
Be A Loner. That Gives You Time To Wonder.
Being Yourself
Giving
Loner
[freud's] Sense Of Reality Is Less Clouded By Wishful Thinking Than Is The Case With Other People And [he Combines] The Qualities Of Critical Judgment, Earnestness And Responsibility.
Responsibility
Reality
Thinking
Wisdom Is Not A Product Of Schooling But Of The Lifelong Attempt To Acquire It.
Motivational
Success
Education
Games Are The Most Elevated Form Of Investigation.
Playing Games
Games
Form
Most Of The Fundamental Ideas Of Science Are Essentially Simple, And May, As A Rule, Be Expressed In A Language Comprehensible To Everyone.
Love
Inspirational
Life
Paper Is To Write Things Down That We Need To Remember. Our Brains Are Used To Think.
Writing
Thinking
Brain
A Human Being Is Part Of A Whole Called By Us The Universe.
Inspirational
Parts Of A Whole
Great Spiritual
In Order To Be An Immaculate Member Of A Flock Of Sheep, One Must Above All Be A Sheep Oneself.
Love
Inspirational
Life
New Frameworks Are Like Climbing A Mountain - The Larger View Encompasses Rather Than Rejects The More Restricted View.
Climbing
Views
Vision
There Comes A Time When The Mind Takes A Higher Plane Of Knowledge But Can Never Prove How It Got There.
Love
Life
God
Raffiniert Ist Der Herr Gott, Aber Boshaft Ist Er Nicht. God Is Subtle, But He Is Not Malicious.
Science
Subtle
Mathematical
The Truth Of A Theory Can Never Be Proven, For One Never Knows If Future Experience Will Contradict Its Conclusions.
Truth
Future
Science
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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